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QC :
-
Quan Canh, the Vietnamese equivalent of American Military Police
(MP); instituted in 1953 as part of the Gendarmerie (French
Military Police) from infantry NCOs who were given specialized
training on law enforcement and discipline; it was redesignated
the Military Police branch in 1955, becoming a separate branch of
the Vietnamese armed forces (AFVN) in 1961. The Quan Canh
training school, located at Vung Tau, was based upon the American
model at Fort Gordon GA; and a 16 week criminal investigations
course was also situated in Vung Tau. There were 47 QC stations
setup in garrison towns across the country, and 5 POW camps for
prisoner interrogation and rehabilitation, with US advisors
assigned at every level. The QC was commanded by a Provost
Marshal General, a special staff officer on the Joint General
Staff (JGS), Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces. See NPFF, NPSS,
WHITE MICE, POLICE.
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Q-COURSE :
-
general term, Qualification course, for any training program that
results in either a proficiency rating, or a modified Military
Occupational Specialty (MOS), or both; proficiency ratings are
denoted by skill badges (TRASH) or qualification tabs (Q-TAB),
and can alter the basic MOS by the addition of a numeric prefix
or a letter suffix (eg: 3-prefix/S-suffix = SF). Since the
Vietnam-era, when a one-week Pre-Recondo course was a
prerequisite for the three-week MACV Recondo School, all of the
Q-COURSEs have instituted a Pre-Q (and in some cases, a Pre-Pre-Q
course) to reduce attrition, making the Q-COURSEs more cost
effective. Q-COURSEs range in length from two weeks for AIR
ASSAULT and JUMPMASTER, to three weeks for AIRBORNE and RECONDO,
JUNGLE EXPERT and SAPPER, to nine weeks for SCOUT/SNIPER and
RANGER, to more than a year for PILOT and SPECIAL FORCES
training. See MOS, PMOS, POI, ASI, SQI, SFQC, CROSS-TRAINING,
OJT, STRIKER, RETREAD, RATING, BILLET, CHARM SCHOOL, COC, ACTA,
RECONDO, SERE, BOLO BADGE, Q-TAB, TRIPLE CANOPY, EOD, UDT, SCUBA,
SEAL, DIVER, DOLPHIN, WATER WINGS, BIRDMAN, JET JOCKEY, PROP
JOCKEY, ROTOR HEAD, WINGS, OVAL, FLASH, RIGGER, POWER WALL, PRO
PAY.
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QM :
-
quartermaster, being the proverbial "4 shop", as S-4/G-4/J-4 (v:
J-CODES); SUPPLY, LOGISTICS, armory, MOTOR POOL, DUMP, DEPOT,
PRE-POS. Also, in NavSpeak, designation for an assistant
navigator; compare COXSWAIN.
-
QRA :
-
Quick Reaction Alert.
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QRC :
-
Quick Reaction Capable / Capability.
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QRF :
-
Quick Reaction Force, also called "Quick Reaction Team"; see RRF.
-
QRT :
-
Quick Reaction Team, also called "Quick Reaction Force"; see RRF,
RT.
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Q-SHIP :
-
a WARSHIP camouflaged as a noncombatant vessel with its armament
and other fighting equipment hidden, arranged with special
provisions for quickly unmasking its weapons; also called "decoy
ship". See DECOY, CAMO, DECEPTION.
[nb: the Geneva Convention specifically prohibits entrapment,
such as an ambush during a truce]
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Q-TAB :
-
a Qualification-TAB denoting individual proficiency, that is
authorized for wear, like any other personal award, as a shoulder
sleeve insignia (SSI) regardless of later assignment. Unlike
pocket badges, which are limited and/or restricted, all Q-TABs
may be worn simultaneously above the current unit PATCH in the
following order: President's 100, SPECIAL FORCES, RANGER, SAPPER.
Also called "Q-arc" or "qual", and should not be confused with
the AIRBORNE arc appended to designated unit shoulder PATCHes.
See TRIPLE CANOPY, BOLO BADGE, TRASH, WINGS, Q-COURSE, SFQC,
GONG, FRUIT SALAD, GREEN TAB, POWER WALL, BRAGGING RIGHTS,
SCROLL, TAB. [v: expert, master, virtuoso, bailiwick]
[nb: an insignia emblematic of the honors and lineage of a
military organization, unlike familial "coats of arms", may be
individually enhanced but not personally heritable; v: Heraldry]
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QTRS :
-
abbreviation for QuarTeRS, designating both living area (eg:
BILLET, BERTH, RACK, BARRACK, HAMMOCK, FART SACK, HOSPITAL
CORNER, SAFE HOUSE, GUARDHOUSE, BUTLER BUILDING, SEA HUT,
QUONSET HUT, HUTMENT, TEAMHOUSE, HOOCH, LONG HOUSE, SHEBANG,
TENT, VILLE, BEQ, BOQ, NOB HILL, GOQ, VOQ, OFFICER'S COUNTRY,
WARDROOM, SUDS ROW, PRIME RIBS, etc) and duty area (eg: CQ, GQ,
FIRE QUARTERS, COLLISION QUARTERS, ON STATION, STAND-TO, etc);
the singular form 'quarter' (QTR) is rarely used. See BAQ / BAH,
SEPARATE RATS.
-
QUAD 50 :
-
A WWII-era antiaircraft weapon used in Vietnam as an
anti-personnel weapon; also spelled "quad-fifty", "quad .50",
"quad-50s". Consisting of four electric solenoid firing M-2 .50
caliber machineguns, mounted in a movable SPONSON as used for
fire base and convoy security; designated M-55. See GUN TRUCK,
HEAVY MG, FIFTY, MA DEUCE, MG.
-
QUAGMIRE :
-
a situation from which extrication is very difficult, being a
metaphor for the VIETNAM WAR, from its existence as a mire or bog
that yields only to ensnare; see DECENT INTERVAL, DOMINO THEORY,
APOCALYPSE, TAR BABY, WHITE ELEPHANT, BELL THE CAT, BITTER END,
FOGGY BOTTOM.
-
QUANGO :
-
a semi-independent agency or bureau; acronym derived from
QUasi Autonomous National Governmental Organization; compare NGO,
GOCO, OGA, BELTWAY BANDIT.
-
QUARTERDECK :
-
that part of a vessel's weather DECK running from midship to the
STERN or POOP DECK, may have bulwarks. Compare FANTAIL,
FORECASTLE.
-
QUARTERDECK FACE :
-
the remote and aloof visage adopted by Navy officers to indicate
their formal demeanor as being responsible for the enforcement of
all regulations. At the conclusion of shipboard fetes or high
jinks or other informalities, the ship's officers would "ship a
QUARTERDECK FACE again" as a signal that breaches or infractions
would no longer be countenanced, and to denote a resumption of
normal routine and traditional protocol. Compare HALF-MAST, FLINT
FACE, FACE.
[nb: the pan is the depressed part of the lock holding the
priming in old guns, so a "deadpan" facial expression derives
from a musket's flash-pan being empty, that is, without any
primer to set-off the charged barrel when the hammer falls to
strike a spark of ignition]
-
QUEBEC :
-
the word assigned to represent the letter "Q" in the
international phonetic alphabet; at various times in different
spelling schemes, it has also been acrophonetically represented
as Quack and Queen. See ALPHABET SOUP, PHONETIC ALPHABET. [v: Alphabet Codes &
Signal Flags]
-
QUEEN FOR A YEAR :
-
catch-phrase for any female MIL-PERS stationed overseas, where
the normal sex ratio of 10 or 15 women to 85 or 90 males is
drastically reduced (sometimes by half) for the term of her tour
of duty; where the normal attention paid to any woman by every
man, while mostly innocent or even protective, becomes onerous or
oppressive. The non-fraternization policy and travel restrictions
typical of a garrisoned lifestyle in a foreign country usually
increases her sense of isolation and victimization because she
has no privacy, no outlets for frustration, and few opportunities
for relaxation. Most women respond to this situation by becoming
imperious or supercilious, a prima donna, hence the attribution
that's been used since the VIETNAM WAR; as derived from "Queen
for a Day", the radio and TV prize giveaway program. See SKIRT,
GI JANE, ANGEL.
-
QUICK OR DEAD :
-
the condition of troops maneuvering under fire; derived from
"judge the quick and the dead" (2 Timothy 4:1), meaning 'the
living and the dead'.
-
QUICK TIME :
-
the command to return the formation to regular march tempo, set
at the rate of 120 steps per minute. Compare DOUBLE TIME, FUNERAL
PACE; see CADENCE, PARADE.
-
QUIET PROFESSIONAL :
-
an expression representing the consummate MIL-PERS, being a
soldier who's attained the highest degree of expertise; someone
superbly skilled or masterly. See SHARPSHOOTER, GUNSLINGER,
JUNGLE EXPERT, BUSHMASTER, MOUNTAINEER, WINTER WARRIOR, NOBLE
SAVAGE, PATROL, BOLO BADGE, Q-TAB, FUGLEMAN, SUPER-TROOPER,
BOOMER, OLD BREED, OLD SWEAT, DINOSAUR, OLD SALT, SHELLBACK,
MOSSBACK, VET, VETERAN, WINTER SOLDIER, PROFESSOR, WIZARD, WONK,
WALLAH, MANDARIN, 90-PAGE WONDER, BELTWAY CLERK, BEST AND
BRIGHTEST, CLUB FED, RIGHT STUFF; compare HERO, MACHO, COUNT
COUP, BRAGGING RIGHTS, PISSING CONTEST.
[v: expert, master, virtuoso, bailiwick; cf: "wight" is a human
being, who is defined as such by his ability to fight, hence is
someone who's strong and brave in war] [nb: "The few who do are
the envy of the many who only watch." by Jim Rohn; "No one going
as a soldier entangles himself with the affairs of life, that he
may please him who has enlisted him as a soldier." 2 Timothy 2:4
(Darby)]
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QUONSET HUT :
-
trademarked brand name of a standardized and prefabricated
semicylindrical shelter with wooden end-walls, suitable for any
weather or region; as developed at Quonset Point Naval Base,
Rhode Island. Its design was adapted from a British hut of
tunnel-shaped corrugated iron with a cement floor that was called
a "Nissen hut" after its inventor, Lt.Col. Peter Norman Nissen,
which was used during both World Wars. The Nissen hut used two
layers of metal to sandwich an insulating air pocket for comfort
and protection while the QUONSET HUT used T-ribbed metal over
Masonite hardboard with corrugated paper insulation; sized 16' X
20', 16' X 36', 20' X 48', 20' X 56', and 24' X 60'. A standard
QUONSET HUT was shipped in twelve crates and could be assembled
by ten unskilled men in one day. The QUONSET HUT was redesigned
to incorporate four-foot vertical sidewalls to recover lost floor
space (Brandenberger's modification) by using a lighter weight an
"I" section profile of Stran-Steel that required fewer fasteners
and less erection time. Larger, heavier, multi-arched, and other
specialized variations of this curvilinear building design were
later produced, including the all wooden PACIFIC HUT and EMKAY
HUT that were developed to spare metal resources. See BLDG,
BILLET; compare JAMESWAY HUT, BUTLER BUILDING, UTILITY BUILDING,
ELEPHANT HUT.
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